Married Calif. Teachers Sentenced for Sex With Student

WESTMINSTER, Calif.-Married teachers in Orange County were sentenced Thursday to probation for having a months-long sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student, individually and as a couple.

Gay Davidson-Shepard and her husband, Daniel Alma Shepard, also received suspended jail sentences and must undergo counseling and complete community service, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

The couple's attorney, Salvatore Ciulla, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Prosecutors said the Huntington Beach couple began grooming the teen in 2009 when he was a student at Westminster High School by inviting him over for meals, drinking, movies and board games. The first sexual encounter was a month later after they urged him to get into their hot tub with them, authorities said.

The sexual activity allegedly continued on a weekly basis for months, but prosecutors said they could not charge the couple with any crimes for sex that happened after the teen turned 18.

The boy told his mother about the abuse in 2011 and she went to police, prosecutors said.

Davidson-Shepard and Shepard both pleaded guilty to multiple sex-related counts in a court offer in August.

After initially posting bail, Gay Davidson-Shepard was rearrested in November 2011 on suspicion of violating a protective order when she called and texted the teenager multiple times after she was released in the original case on bail, prosecutors

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Comments

Oh Jed said:, 2012-11-02 10:51:55

WTF! What am I missing?, Are they saying NOTHING sexual happened until he turned 18? These creatures are the definition and worst kind of predators... a tag team and BOTH teachers. There is no punishment, no justice and most importantly, no deterrent for these bottom feeders from "grooming" their next victim.

, 2012-11-02 18:01:25

The opposite is happening. They are being charged for everything prior to when the teen turned 18.

Bob K, 2012-11-03 14:08:48

Looking at the photos of those two.... either this poor kid was very horny or they had a lot of beer

, 2012-11-04 09:43:57

Another horrible and tragic example of child sexual abuse. This raises many questions. Why a mere 3 years probation? Did the judge just happen to feel sympathy or empathy for these 2 perverts or "Monsters" as the Mother so aptly calls them. They are not human. Would your reaction be different had this been a little girl rather than a young boy? We all know the dynamic; sadly it is in the news all of the time. These monsters get a little time in jail, at the most, and then they are out on the streets to repeat always in a more violent way. Yes, that little girl walking home from school found dead was raped and then murdered by some "registered" freak. When will we put a stop to this? When it happens to your family or a neighbor? These monsters who rend the hearts and tear the souls from innocent little children need to be put away for life. There is no cure for them. One group, whose great good work I have followed for two decades, is making a major difference to stop this in our great nation. They are Focus Adolescent Services, www.Focusas.com / If you cannot act directly to change this and stop it then support their work by sending them a fat check .Support their free national help line and all of their counselors free help. In this case the judge might have thought that this couple, in their 60’s, may have a long history of child sexual abuse. Call in the FBI, the United States Marshals, and check their past.The numbers are staggering my fellow Americans. One in four girls under the age of 18 has been sexually abused. 20% are under the age of 8. 5 children die every day as a result of a monsters sexual abuse. There are over 3 Million reports annually of child sex abuse; and that is just the reported cases. Let’s work together,let’s stop this, support Focusas.com or another group if you know of one.